Grant R. Thompson

M.S., University of Texas at Austin, 1977B.S., University of Texas at Austin, 1975

Grant Thompson, a native of Marble Falls, Texas, joined Mobil Oil’s Offshore Engineering Group in 1976, after completing graduate studies under the direction of Dr. Stephen G. Wright at the UT Austin. At the time, the oil and gas industry was rapidly expanding into new frontiers in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, offshore Eastern Canada, and the Arctic. Starting out as a geotechnical engineer in a small group of offshore specialists, Thompson advanced up the technical ladder and helped build a staff capable of designing and building production systems that could safely produce hydrocarbons in these new regions.

Early in his career, he played a key role in the development and implementation of new design methodologies for mudslide resistant offshore platforms in the Gulf, iceberg resistant gravity based structures offshore Canada, and large diameter driven pile foundations for North Sea platforms. Thompson actively served on American Petroleum Institute and Canadian Standards Association Committees during these years and assisted with the documentation of various design processes. He is author or co-author of thirteen technical publications related to oil and gas production system design.

He progressed through various management assignments and later in his career worked in the project execution arm of the company. In 2000, he became the Facilities Engineering Manager for ExxonMobil Development Company’s worldwide projects. From 2002 – 2007, he was Project Executive for the Qatargas II LNG joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil. While based in Qatar, his teams directed the design and construction of the world’s largest LNG production unit, the world’s largest LNG ships and an LNG receiving terminal in Wales. More recently, he held Project Executive positions for ExxonMobil’s Malaysian and Nigerian producing affiliates.

Thompson is a former member of the Department of Civil Engineering Visiting Committee, a member of ASCE and Chi Epsilon. He retired from ExxonMobil in 2011, with 35 years of service.